Zapier is one of the best-known tools for connecting web apps so that work in one place triggers work in another. A form submission can create a spreadsheet row, a new lead can post to a chat channel, and a support email can open a ticket. In 2026 the company also sells AI features on top of that core: an assistant for building automations, AI agents, chatbots and a connector for AI assistants.
This review explains what Zapier is, how its pricing model works, what the company documents about security and data use, and where it may not fit. We focus on the details that tend to surprise buyers, especially how tasks are counted, because that is where most budget questions come from.
How we researched this: we did not run hands-on tests for this article. It is based on the vendor’s own documentation and public sources, checked on 11 November 2026. Features and prices change, so confirm details on the vendor’s site before you buy.
Key takeaways
- Zapier bills by tasks, and a task is a successful action step, not a trigger. Filters and Paths steps do not count, so the same workflow can cost very different amounts depending on how it is built.
- The pricing page lists a Free plan with 100 tasks a month, paid plans that start from $19.99 a month, and a Team plan from $69 a month, as shown when we checked on 11 November 2026.
- Zapier says it does not train AI models on workflow data on any plan, and holds SOC 2 Type II certification. Opt-out and retention controls differ by plan, so read the details.
- Extra AI features can consume more tasks than a plain action: Zapier documents 1, 3 and 5 tasks for different AI by Zapier model tiers.
- Teams that want self-hosting or very high run volumes at predictable cost may prefer a different tool, such as one of the options in our Zapier, Make and n8n decision guide.
What it is
Zapier is a workflow automation platform. You build a workflow, which Zapier calls a Zap, from a trigger (something that happens in one app) and one or more actions (things Zapier does in other apps). A June 2026 post on Zapier’s own blog says the platform connects to over 9,000 apps, although another banner on the same page says 10,000+, so treat the exact number as approximate and check the app directory for the tools you need.
Beyond classic Zaps, Zapier’s pricing page lists several related products. These include Tables and Forms, Agents (AI assistants for tasks), Chatbots, and a feature called Copilot. The same blog post says every plan has access to Copilot, an assistant that helps brainstorm, build and maintain automations, and that every plan includes Zapier MCP, which lets MCP-compatible assistants such as Claude or ChatGPT take actions in connected apps.
The company also documents a newer kind of workflow called Next Gen Zaps. According to Zapier’s help centre, from 1 December 2026 Next Gen Zaps and the Zapier SDK will also use tasks, with each completed Next Gen Zap run using at least one task. If you plan to adopt those products, read that page before you estimate costs.
Who it is for
Going by the way the plans are structured, Zapier targets three groups: individuals who want a few simple automations, small teams that need shared connections and permissions, and larger organisations that need single sign-on, governance and a dedicated account contact. The Free plan is described as one user with two-step Zaps. Professional adds multi-step Zaps for one user. Team supports up to 25 users, and Enterprise is unlimited users with annual task limits.
Zapier tends to suit people who value a large app catalogue and a no-code builder over low-level control. If your main need is to join common SaaS tools without writing code, the documented feature set lines up with that. If you want to host the software yourself or write custom code at the centre of your workflows, you should look at the alternatives section below first.
Key features (documented)
The table below lists what Zapier’s own pages say about its main building blocks. It is not a complete feature list.
| Area | What the vendor documents |
|---|---|
| Zaps | Trigger and action workflows. Free plan: two-step Zaps. Paid plans: multi-step Zaps. |
| Filters, Paths, Formatter | Logic and data-shaping steps. The pricing blog lists these with Professional, and the help centre says Filter and Paths steps do not use tasks. |
| AI by Zapier | AI steps inside a Zap. Task cost depends on the model tier: 1 task for the default, 3 for Advanced, 5 for Premium, per Zapier’s June 2026 pricing post. |
| Copilot | An assistant for building and maintaining automations, available on every plan per the same post. |
| Zapier MCP | Lets AI assistants take actions across connected apps. Billed at 2 tasks per successful tool call, per the help centre. |
| Agents | AI assistants with their own activity quota rather than task usage. Free: 400 activities a month. Pro: 1,500 activities a month. |
| Chatbots | Listed with a free tier of 2 chatbots and 500kB of knowledge, and paid tiers for 5 and 20 chatbots. |
| Tables and Forms | Data tables and forms. The help centre says steps for these do not use tasks. |
Triggers, polling and speed
The pricing page lists different polling intervals by plan: 15 minutes on Free, 2 minutes on Professional and 1 minute on Team. Polling is how often Zapier checks an app for new data on triggers that work that way. If your workflow needs fast reaction, check whether your trigger app supports instant delivery and how often your plan polls.
Pricing model
Zapier prices by plan and by monthly task volume. The figures below are what the pricing page showed when we checked on 11 November 2026. Confirm them on the vendor page, because prices change and the page shows amounts that depend on the task tier you pick.
| Plan | Price shown | Documented limits |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 a month | 100 tasks a month, 1 user, two-step Zaps, 15-minute polling |
| Professional | From $19.99 a month | 1 user, multi-step Zaps, 2-minute polling |
| Team | From $69 a month | Up to 25 users, 1-minute polling |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | Unlimited users, annual task limits |
The page says paid plans range from 100 to 2 million tasks a month, with a custom option, and that paying yearly saves 33%. It does not list a price for each task tier on the page text we read, so we cannot tell you what a mid-sized plan costs. Non-profits are listed as getting 15% off paid plans, excluding pay-per-task charges.
What counts as a task
This is the most important part of the model. Zapier’s help centre says only successful action steps count. Triggers (including polling checks), Filter and Paths steps, test runs in the editor, and steps that error or never run do not count. Steps for Tables, Forms, Formatter, Delay, Looping, Digest and Storage are also listed as not counting. The help centre gives an example: a Zap with one trigger and two actions uses 2 tasks per run, so 10 runs use 20 tasks.
| Item | Task use, per Zapier’s help centre |
|---|---|
| Successful action step | 1 task per run |
| Trigger, Filter, Paths, test run | 0 tasks |
| Code by Zapier | 1 task per standard run |
| Lead Router | 5 tasks per successfully routed lead |
| Zapier MCP | 2 tasks per successful tool call |
| Zapier Agents | Not tasks; separate activity quota |
Going over the limit
The pricing page says that if pay-per-task billing is on, usage continues at a higher per-task rate once you hit your limit. If it is off, Zaps pause until your next billing period. The help centre adds that pay-per-task billing is capped at 3 times your plan limit, with emails at 80% and 100% of that cap, and that remaining tasks are held until the billing cycle ends. For a deeper look at reading tiers and overage rules in general, see our guide to reading an AI tool’s pricing page.
Strengths
- Clear task definition. The help centre spells out what counts and what does not, including edge cases such as a Search step that proceeds when nothing is found (1 task) versus one that stops (no task).
- Failed steps are not billed. Only successful actions count, which means a broken step does not eat your allowance.
- Breadth of products. Automation, tables, forms, agents, chatbots and an MCP connector are sold under one account, so you can add capabilities without changing vendor.
- Documented security baseline. Zapier lists SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3, TLS 1.2 or higher in transit, AES-256 at rest, two-factor authentication on every plan, annual third-party penetration tests and a bug bounty programme.
- A usable free plan for evaluation. The Free plan is limited, but it lets you check whether the apps you rely on connect properly before you pay.
Limits and cautions
- Cost can grow with steps. Because each successful action is a task, a workflow with many actions on a busy trigger uses tasks quickly. Filters and Paths do not count, so design matters.
- AI steps can cost more. The documented 1, 3 and 5 task tiers for AI by Zapier mean a single AI step can consume several tasks.
- Pricing detail is behind tier selectors. We could not read the price of each task tier from the pricing page text, so you must pick a tier on the live page to see the exact amount.
- Upcoming change. From 1 December 2026, Next Gen Zaps and the SDK will use tasks, according to the help centre. Check how that affects any plan you are comparing.
- US data hosting. The security page says data is stored on AWS in the United States. Zapier MCP documentation says customer data is in AWS US-East-1 and that region-specific residency is not available unless otherwise agreed.
- No self-hosting. The documents we read describe a hosted multi-tenant service. We found no self-hosted option.
Privacy and data
Zapier’s security and compliance page says it holds SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 certification, audited annually, and supports GDPR, UK GDPR and CCPA/CPRA compliance as a data processor, with a data processing agreement and standard contractual clauses for international transfers. SOC 2 reports require an NDA through its Trust Center.
On AI and training, the security page says Zapier does not train AI models on workflow data on any plan, though it may learn from workflow structure rather than content. A separate page on its automation platform says Enterprise customers are automatically opted out of having their content used for model training and improvement, and that other customers can opt out through a form. Those two statements read slightly differently, so if training is a concern, ask Zapier to confirm in writing which applies to your plan. The same page says subprocessors are prohibited from using customer content for their own model training and that Zapier has implemented OpenAI’s Zero Day Retention feature.
| Topic | What Zapier documents |
|---|---|
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type II, SOC 3, GDPR and CCPA/CPRA support |
| Encryption | TLS 1.2 or higher in transit, AES-256 at rest |
| Hosting | AWS in the United States |
| Access controls | 2FA on every plan; SAML SSO and SCIM on Enterprise; audit logs |
| Retention | Enterprise can set custom retention, as short as 7 days for Zap history |
| Bring your own AI | Bring your own key, and bring your own model through AWS Bedrock |
Because workflows move real business data between apps, it is worth reading our guide on protecting company data when using AI tools before you connect customer systems. Zapier itself describes compliance as a shared responsibility: you decide what data enters a workflow.
Alternatives
Make and n8n are the two alternatives most often placed next to Zapier. We cover how to choose between them in our decision guide, and we publish separate reviews of Make and n8n. In general terms, based on their documentation, Make bills in credits and presents a visual scenario builder, and n8n offers a free self-hosted Community Edition under the Sustainable Use License as well as paid cloud plans. Each has different limits, so compare on your own workflow rather than on headlines.
| Tool | Billing unit per vendor docs | Self-hosting |
|---|---|---|
| Zapier | Tasks (successful actions) | Not documented |
| Make | Credits (most actions use 1) | Not documented in the pages we read |
| n8n | Executions on paid cloud plans, as reported by third parties | Yes, Community Edition is free |
Who should and should not use it
Best for these people, if these conditions apply
- You want to connect mainstream SaaS apps without code and you value a broad catalogue.
- Your workflows have a modest number of action steps per run, or you can use Filters and Paths to keep task use down.
- You need a documented security baseline such as SOC 2 Type II and are comfortable with US hosting.
Look elsewhere, or test carefully, if these apply
- You need self-hosting or full control of where workflows run.
- Your workflows run very frequently with many actions each, and cost predictability is critical.
- You need data residency outside the United States, which the MCP documentation says is not available by default.
Questions to ask before buying
- How many successful action steps will my busiest workflow run per month, and which tier does that put me in?
- Will I use AI steps, and at which model tier, given the 1, 3 and 5 task costs?
- Do I need pay-per-task billing, and am I comfortable with the 3 times cap?
- Which plan do I need for the number of users and the polling speed I want?
- Which training and retention terms apply to my plan, in writing?
- Do I plan to use Next Gen Zaps or the SDK, which will use tasks from 1 December 2026?
A cheap way to answer the first question is to follow the steps in how to test an AI tool before you pay for it: build your most typical workflow on the Free plan and watch the task count.
Frequently asked questions
Is Zapier free?
There is a Free plan. When we checked on 11 November 2026 the pricing page listed it at $0 a month with 100 tasks a month, one user and two-step Zaps. Paid plans start from $19.99 a month for Professional.
What counts as a task in Zapier?
Zapier’s help centre says a task is a successful action step. Triggers, Filter and Paths steps, test runs, and steps that error do not count.
What happens if I use more tasks than my plan includes?
With pay-per-task billing on, you are charged a higher per-task rate for extra usage, up to 3 times your plan limit. With it off, Zaps pause until the next billing period, according to Zapier.
Does Zapier train AI on my data?
Zapier’s security page says it does not train AI models on workflow data on any plan. Another Zapier page says Enterprise customers are opted out automatically and others can opt out through a form. Ask for written confirmation for your plan.
Can I self-host Zapier?
We found no self-hosted option in the documents we read. Zapier describes a hosted, multi-tenant service on AWS in the United States.
Is Zapier better than Make or n8n?
We do not rank them. Each uses a different billing unit and has different strengths, so compare them using your own workflow. Our decision guide explains how.
Conclusion
Zapier’s documented strengths are a clear task definition, a wide product range and a stated security baseline. Its main cautions are that cost scales with successful action steps, AI steps can use several tasks each, and the service is hosted in the United States only. It looks best for non-technical teams joining mainstream apps, and less suited to teams that want self-hosting or tight control of high-volume costs.
Before you commit, estimate your task use, run a real workflow on the Free plan, and read our guides on how to choose an AI tool and how to review automations so they do not break silently.
Sources
- Zapier pricing page, 11 November 2026
- Zapier blog: Zapier pricing (updated 16 June 2026), 11 November 2026
- Zapier Help Centre: Tasks in Zapier, 11 November 2026
- Zapier blog: What is a task in Zapier, 11 November 2026
- Zapier security and compliance, 11 November 2026
- Zapier automation platform information, 11 November 2026
- Zapier MCP security documentation, 11 November 2026
